UWA Choral Pedagogy 2013, semester 1, session 2

Notes available at www.kristinbowtell.com/choralpedagogy© Kristin Bowtell

1. Renewing the human connection – more starters

2. Warm-ups led by Lachlan, Mona & Kate

3. Q: To starter or not to starter? When might it be best to skip the warm-up and start singing immediately?

4. Basic skills 1: beat patterns in simple time (whole-arm beating à la Dalcroze)

a) TIP: conducting as a form of metrical analysis

5. Basic skills 2: communication (the shepherd)

a) Eye contactb) Physical demeanourc) Gesture can be literal or suggestive

6. Score preparation and skill development

a) Extract from the dissertation (handout, also copied below. Further reading – the complete 1st chapter is on the choral pedagogy page):

b) Why annotate? Systems of annotating scores

7. Today everyone conducts! Pieces without anacruses, in simple time (2/3/4).

Anon. Coventry Carol “Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart” Boyce Alleluia

Additional reading on score study and preparation:http://www.timreynish.com/conducting/conducting-articles/score-preparation.phphttp://www.timreynish.com/conducting/conducting-articles/score-study-part1.phphttp://www.timreynish.com/conducting/conducting-articles/score-study-part2.phphttp://www.drewcollins.com/resources/scoreanalysismethod.pdfhttp://bama.ua.edu/~chancock/downloads/files/3345668.pdf

8. FOR NEXT WEEK: commence your diary of vocal development Everyone will conduct again – the repertoire list will be on

the website in the next few days.

Bowtell, K. (2012). The Embodied Score: a conductor’s application of the Dalcroze approach to interpretive decision-making. Unpublished MMus dissertation, Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama/University of Glamorgan, Cardiff; pp. 3-5.

“Of our initial questions about score preparation, only its general importance seems unanimously agreed upon.

Is there any consensus regarding what constitutes satisfactory preparation? A thematic survey of conducting

texts from Wagner (1869) and Coward (1915) to Halsey (2011) gives a number of commonly accepted maxims,

listed loosely in order of process:1

Table 1-1 : thematic analysis of score preparation advice in conducting texts

a) Start with a silent, visual scan of the score, i.e. not with a recording or at the piano2

b) Recordings are a useful way of surveying performance practice but should not be a substitute for rigorous

personal study and development of personal opinions and interpretation3 (listen to ten recordings once

each rather than one recording ten times4)

c) Sing horizontally through each part5

d) Sing vertically up and down the score6

e) Acquire a detailed aural concept of the work7

f) Play the score at the piano to the extent of your capabilities,8 although it should be noted that the ability

to ‘inner hear’ the score is considered far more important9 and indeed at least a few successful

conductors have practically no keyboard skills10

1 Criteria for inclusion were that each theme was either a) mentioned by multiple sources, or b) not incompatible with other sources. The given ranking of processes is very general; the literature agrees on the order of study far less than on the individual processes.2 Boult (1951 [1920]); Green (1981); Halsey (2011); Grosbayne (1973); Lumley and Springthorpe (1989); Rudolf (1980)3 Halsey (2011); Lumley and Springthorpe (1989)4 Brashier, J. retrieved 23rd April 2012 [http://www.windrep.org/Articles:Score_Study]5 Coward (1951 [1915]); Green (1981); Grosbayne (1973); Jordan (2008); Lumley and Springthorpe (1989)6 Green (1981); Grosbayne (1973)7 Boult (1951 [1915]); Brewer (1997); Green (1981); Grosbayne (1973); Halsey (2011); Jordan (2008); Rudolf (1980); Scherchen (1989 [1933]); Wagner (1869 [1940])8 Brewer (1997); Coward (1951 [1915]); Green (1981); Grosbayne (1973); Hill, Parfitt and Ash (1995); Lumley and Springthorpe (1989); Rudolf (1980); Wagner (1869 [1940])9 Green (1981); Grosbayne (1973); Halsey (2011); Scherchen (1989 [1933])10 Halsey, S. Workshop delivered 19th January 2012

g) Mark the score as necessary11 but recognise that this is for the purpose of learning the score rather than

as a primary method of remembering things in performance12 (cf. Hans von Bülow’s aphorism “It is better

to have the score in one’s head, than one’s head in the score”13)

h) Research the historical and musical background of the work; i.e. the composer’s oeuvre, the work’s place

in its genre and what was composed contemporaneously14

i) Analyse the structure, from the large-scale structures to phrasing and motivic play; understand the

essential rhythmic, melodic and tonal relations within the work15

j) Determine tempos16

k) Practise conducting the work, e.g. in front of a mirror or with a rehearsal pianist17

l) Develop a sense of the work’s dramatic and emotional journey18

In the case of vocal music, text adds another dimension to the process of score preparation. Text often

influences character and emotional affect and can be a large-scale organisational principle19 as well as typically

informing the phrase structure20.

These approaches can be divided into four categories:

Application of analytical schemes (a, g, h, i and j)

Acquisition of an aural concept (b, c, d, e and f)

Gestural practice, i.e. physical conducting “technique” (k)

Development of personal interpretation (l)”

11 Barber (2003); Boult (1951 [1920]); Brewer (1997); Coward (1951 [1915]); Davis (1991); Green (1981); Grosbayne (1973); Halsey (2011); Hill, Parfitt and Ash (1995); Holst (1990 [1973]); Jordan (2008); Lumley and Springthorpe (1989); McElheran (1989); Rudolf (1980); Woodgate (1949)12 Rudolf (1980)13 Walker, A. (2010) Hans von Bülow: A Life and Times. New York: Oxford University Press; p. 28214 Grosbayne (1973); Halsey (2011); Lumley and Springthorpe (1989); Scherchen (1989 [1933])15 Coward (1951 [1915]); Green (1981); Grosbayne (1973); Halsey (2011); Jordan (2008); Lumley and Springthorpe (1989); Rudolf (1980)16 Grosbayne (1973); Halsey (2011); Hill, Parfitt and Ash (1995); Jordan (2008); Lumley and Springthorpe (1989); Rudolf (1980); Wagner (1940 [1869])17 Green (1981); Grosbayne (1973); Halsey (2011); Jordan (2008); Lumley and Springthorpe (1989); Scherchen (1989 [1933])18 Boult (1951 [1920]); Brewer (1997); Green (1981); Grosbayne (1973); Halsey (2011); Jordan (2008); Lumley and Springthorpe (1989)19 Ferris, N. (2012) Personal communication: email; see also Toft, R. (2000) Heart to heart: expressive singing in England 1780-1830. Oxford: Oxford University Press; p. 16. Singers have been advised to speak text aloud in order to find the meaning and emphases since at least the 18th century.20 Halsey (2011) p. 86